New Oculus prototype integrates OLED display and head-tracking camera

A new prototype for virtual reality headset Oculus Rift has added a new OLED display as it attempts to eliminate issues such as motion blur.

The new display for the 'Crystal Cove' prototype allows for faster refresh times than the LCD display used in previous iterations of the tech. It is also capable of showing images in 1080p.

Speaking to Polygon, Oculus founder Palmer Luckey said the new headset features low persistence, which he labelled as "the most important thing" the company is currently showing at the Consumer Electronics Show.

"Low persistence is really, really important," said Luckey.

"It’s probably the most important thing we’re showing. It doesn’t sound really exciting… but it’s incredible the difference low persistence makes. You really have to see it. It’s mind-blowing.

"Our new OLED panel in the prototype switches in well under a millisecond, so it’s faster than any LCD monitor on the market … what we’re doing is we’re taking the image and flashing it on when it’s correct, and only keeping that on for a fraction of a millisecond and then turning it off and then going black until the next pulse.

"It is not something that any OLED panel can do."

On top of this, the latest version of the Rift comes with an external camera to that can track head movement through LED markers on the front of the head set.

This means when players move their head forward and backwards, the movement will be reflected in-game.